Apparatus for forming creep checks



March WOQD|NGS APPARATUS FOR FORMING CREE? CHECKS 7 Filed May 8, 1926 3Sheets-Sheet 1 F |rs.1 F E. a.

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APPARATUS FOR FORMING CREEP CHECKS Filed MayB, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F IE. 7.

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APPARATUS FOR FORMING cams? cnmcxs Filed May 8, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 5WITNESSES MVEVTOR d -z'f m. WW

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Patented Mar. 19, 1929.

UNITED stares rzeae'zo rarest oFFIcE.

EMANUEL WOODINGS, 0F OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANEA, ASSIGNOE T0 WOODINGS FORGE8a TOOL COMIANY, OF VERONA, YEENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL-VANIA.

Application filed May a,

The present invention relates broadly to metal working, and tometalworking machines, and more particularly to a method and apparatus forthe accurate forging of creep checks adapted to be applied to railwayrails for the purpose of resisting longitudinal creeping movementthereof.

At the present time it is customary in the general art to whichthepresent invention relates to construct one-piece creep checks.

Such checks are highly desirable, not only from the standpoint ofsimplicity as to con struction, and relatively light weight, but alsofrom the standpoint of actual shipment and application. v r

The present invention relates specifically to anarticle of this naturewhich, when ac curately formed by machining for testpurposes, has provenextremely efficient. It will be understood that while one-piecestructures are desirable for the various reasons pointed out, they mustbe capable of construction in such manner that they may be sold at aprice capable of elfectivelycompet-ing with anchors of the typeheretofore manufactured.

One-piece anchors while possessing the desirable features referred to,must necessarily be accurately and uniformly shaped in order to meet theexacting demands to which they are subjected in use. If non-uniformlyshapedor dimensioned, it is obvious that different anchors will engageeither different portions of the same rail,.or portions of diflerentrails with varying degrees of effectiveness. Such conditions areobjectionable in that the different anchors do not carry their'fullshare of the load, and frequently the anchors will successively slipuntil ultimately substantially all the load is being taken by one or twoof the anchors. As each anchor is calculated with a certain limitedmaximum holding power, this condition is not only unsatisfactory, but isactually unsafe.

The present invention has for certain of its objects themanufacture ofsuch anchors by forging in such manner that each blank is accuratelyshaped, and formed to extremely close tolerance insuring maximum anduniform efficiency of the-anchors in use.

Heretofore efforts have been made to produce articles of this generalcharacter by forging but it has been foundextremely difficult to shapethe relatively heavy gauge APiARATUS FOR FORMING CREE? OHECK$.

1926. Serial as. 167,631.

material, which is necessarily hard and of spring-like nature, in suchmanner as to obtain a permanent uniform manufacturing set in successivearticles, together with sharp angles where required and uniformity ofmeasurement.

In accordance with the present invention these difficulties andobjections are overcome, and I am enabled to obtain the desirableresults before referred to. V I

In the accompanying drawings there are shown for purposes ofillustration only, certain preferredembodiments of the presentinvention, it being understood that the draw ings do not define thelimits of my invention, as changes in the construction and operationdisclosed therein may be made without departing either from the spiritof the invention or the scope of my broader claims.

In the drawings:

Fi ure 1 is an end elevational View, partly broken away and partly insection, illustrating one form of apparatus constructed in accordancewith the present invention;

.Figure 2 is a diagrammatic View, on an enlarged scale, illustrating theconstruction of one pair 1 of preliminary shaping dies; Figure 3 is aview similar to Figure 2, illustrating the dies in closed position attheconc'lusion of their shaping operation; Figure 4 is a detail View,partly in section and partly broken away, illustrating a portion of theforming dies and the forming mechanism; Figure 5 is a view similartoFigure 4 illustrating the parts in one of their successive positions;Figure 6 is a 'view similar to Figure 5 illustrating the parts'in stillan other position; Figure 7 is a front view of a portion of the formingmachine illustrating the operation, of the strippers; Figure 8 is afront elevationalview of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 1 Figure 9is a view similar to Figure 8, but-'partly broken away and partly insection, and illustrating the parts in the position they occupy atthe'conclusi'on of the forming'operation; Figure '10 is a side view of acompleted creep check; and Figure 11 is a detail sectional view throughaportion of a standard railway rail showingmy improved creep check inposition thereon. v I 7 Having reference more particularly to Figures 1to 9, both inclusive, of the drawings, a forging machine constructed inaccordance with the present invention may comprise a stationary bedplate 2 having a supporting block 3 thereon for the reception of thelower forming die F, and carrying at one side thereof the lower shapingdie S for preliminarily shaping the successive blanks.

Cooperating with the stationary bed plate, is a movable cross head 4adapted to be operated in any desired manner as well understood in theart, and having mounted thereon a fluid pressure cylinder Positionedwithin the cylinder is a piston 6 having a piston rod 7 projectingdownwardly through the cross head and carrying at its lower end theupper forming die F. At its underside adjacent one end thereof, thecross head 4 is formed with a downwardly projecting block 8 shaped atits lower end to detachably receive the upper preliminary shaping die S.

In the operation of the apparatus, a blank B as illustrated moreparticularly in Figure 2-, is placed in position between the preliminary shaping dies S and S, and the cross head is thereupon lowered tocause these dies to engage and preliminarily shape the blank. These diesare effective for shaping the blanks as illustrated more particularly inFigures 1 to 3 of the drawings. It is essen-' tial that successiveblanks be uniformly shaped, and in order to facilitate this operation,the lower shaping die S is provided with one or more stop pins 9 tendingto facilitate the proper positioning of the blank B thereon. Theaccurate positionin of successive blanks, facilitates'the accurateformation thereof under the action of the shaping dies. It will beunderstood that the metal being worked upon is necessarily extremelyhard in order to stand up under the loads imposed thereon, and that inorder to provide the necessary resiliency to permit application of thecreep check it must be more or loss spring-like in nature. Such materialis extremely hard to shape naturally, and this is particularly truewhere it is desired to produce abrupt changes of section requiring theformation of -more or less sharp corners, or where it is desired toabruptly change the direction of extension of the body of the blank.Having this in mind, I preferably provide the lower preliminary shapingdie S with a hardened insert 10 adjacent the point where it is clesiredtoform a comparatively sharp interior angle, and also provide the uppershaping die S with a similar insert 11 having a projection shoulder 12thereon. During the closing movement of the shaping dies, the projection12 will be forced into the blank causing an actual flowing of the metaland thereby form a locking groove or notch 13 therein having sharpcorners and of clearly defined outline.

After the completion of each cycle of operation of the cross-head 4, theblank which has been preliminarily shapedby the shaping dies is removedtherefrom and placed in inverted position on the lower forming die F.After the removal of the preliminarily shaped blank, and placing it inposition on the forn'iing die F, the operator places a new blank inposition onthe shaping dies, whereupon the next cycle of operation ofthe cross-head will be effective not only for shaping preliminarily anew blank but also for completing the formation of the previously shapedblank placed in position on the forming dies.

This forming operation is accomplished by initially bringing the upperforming die F into engagement with the preliminarily shaped blank fortightly clamping the same on the lower formingdie to prevent anymovement thereof during subsequent operations thereon. During thecontinued descent of the cross head the piston 6 slidesin the cylinder 5inwhich may be maintained only sufficient pressure on the piston as toensure a firm clamping of the blank by the dies F, F. Projectingdownwardly from the cross-head on opposite sides of the piston rod 7 areforming arms 14 and 15 respectively.

The forming arm 14 has a vertically extend ing guiding slot for thereception of the guide lug '17 projecting laterally from the forming dieF. On its inner surface the arm 14 is formed with an inclined formingface 18 adapted to engage the righthand end of the blank asviewed inFigures 4 to 6 and 8 and 9. This forming face is preferably formed by ahardener insert of the general nature before referred to. Uponcontinueddescent of the cross-head it will be obvious that the'face 18tends to force the blank inwardly against the die F and. around thesharp shoulder 19 formed thereon, whereby the shaping of the lockinggroove or notch 13 is completed.

The forming arm 15 is of the same general construction as that of thearm 14, i

being provided adjacent its lower end with a transversely extendinghardened pin 20;.

This pin is adapted to engage theopposite end of the blank and bend itdownwardly around the horn 21 into-the position illustrated in Figure 5.Above the pin the arm 15is provided with an opening 22 adapted .for thereception of a laterally movable ing teeth around only a portion oftheir re At their outer ends these spective peripheries. The teeth ofthe pine ion- 27 are adapted to mesh 'at' predetermined periods in eachcycle of operation Wlththe teeth 29 on the rack bar 30 carried byandprojecting downwardly from the cross-head. The rack bar 30 has an endtooth 31 and a toothless space 32 separating the end tooth from theteeth 29. It will be apparent that with this construction the end tooth31 will be effective at the conclusion of each upward movement ofacross-head forengaging one of the teeth on the pinion-27 for rotatingit. to such a position that it will beheld by the detent. On thedownward stroke there will initially be no movement of the pinion 27,and consequently no movement of the rack bar 24. Afterthe'forming pin20has-bent the blank into the form above-shown in Fig ure 5, and hasdropped to such a position that it will not interfere with the advanceof the former 23, the teeth 29 will engage the teeth of the pinion'27,and thereby rotate the shaft 26- to advance the rack bar 24 and theformer 23. This former will engage the lower end of the blank, and bendthe same in and around the hornv 21, and thus complete the forming of;the blank. The block 3 is provided with'clearance' recesses 33permitting downward movement of the arms 14 and 15 to the extentrequiredfor these operations. Upon upward movement of the cross-head,the parts will be-restored to their original positions as shown inFigure8.

, any desired manner. The cylinder is pro- After the formation of eachof theblanks is completed, it'becomes necessary to effect the strippingthereof from the lower forming die F. This may be accomplished by amechanical stripper comprising side arms 34 adapted to be horizontallyreciprocated on opposite sides of the forming die F. Inasmuch as themaximum binding between a formed blank and a forming die occurs aroundthe shoulder 19 and around the born 21, the stripper arms 34 willpreferably be so positioned that they will engage the blank adjacentthese points as clearly indicated in Figure 7. While the stripper may beoperated in any desired manner, I-find that it may be expeditiouslyoperated by means of a fluid pressure cylinder 35 located at the rear ofthe machine and having its piston rod 36 connected to the stripper armsin vided with a controlling valve 37 adapted to be operated by apivotally mounted lever 38 carried by an arm 39 rigidly secured to theblock 3 on the bed plate 2 of the forging machine. The forward end ofthe lever 38 projects into such a position that it is adapted to beengaged upon successive movements of the cross-head by atrip lever 40.This lever has a pivotal mounting 41, and is normally urged in apredetermined direction by a compression spring 42. Upon descent of thecross-head, the lower end of i the trip lever will engage the forward.end

of the lever 38 and :move the controlling valve in suchmanner thatretraction ofthe stripper is insured. 'Upon the upward movement of thecross-head, after the completion of a forming operation, the trip lever40 will move the lever 38 in the opposite direction, thereby turningfluid pressure into the opposite'end of the cylinder 35 for advancingthe stripper arms 34 to thereby strip a formed blank from the lowerform-- ing die. 7

With a forging machine of the character described,-it.will be apparentthat each reciprocation of the cross-head is effective for preliminarilyshaping one blank and for completing the formation of a blank which haspreviously been preliminarily shaped. Each finished blank isin turnstripped automatically-from the forming die whereby it maybe'expeditiously removed from the machine. Tothose skilled in the art,it will be obvious that the forging machine may be operatedat acomparatively high rate'of speed for rapidly forming completed creepchecks. The machine as described, however, requires two pairs of dies,thereby distributing the shaping between twov different operations. Itwill be understood, however, that if desired, forging machines may beconvstructed in such manner that the complete the face 46 of the jaw, asto substantially accurately engage the upper surface of the rail base,the face 46 conforming to the contour of the edge of the rail base. Theoverall width of the face 46 is preferably slightly greater than thethickness of the rail base at its edge, and the jaw is preferably curveddownwardly away from the face to form a clearance :space 47. Thisshaping of the face 46 together with the provision of a clearancespaceenables the check to be init-ially easily applied to one edge ofthe rail base. Thereafter it is rotated around this edge'as a pivotuntil the fulcrum point 48 of the check engages the lower surface of therail base and preferably at a point substanedge of the rail base to anextentsufficient to bring the groove 13 opposite the rail base edge. Atthis time the check will forcibly spring into position to tightly gripthe rail base as shown in Figure 14. i

Actual tests have shown the desirability of having the groove 13accurately shaped so as to substantially conform to the contour of theedge of a rail base as shown not only to prevent nicking of the edge insuch manner as to result in the ultimate fracture of the rail, but alsofor the purpose of more effectively gripping the rail base. It is alsode sirable that the groove iscomparativelyshallow, as in this mannerweakening of the check is obviated, and subsequent removal for repair ofthe track, or for reuse of the check isfacilitated, without'in any waylessening the effective gripping power of the check. 1

I claim herein as my invention:

1. A creep check forgingapparatus comprising a fixed die having on oneside a horn adapted to shape a hook on one end of the creep check and"on its opposite side a grooveforming shoulder, a reciprocatingcrosshead, a secondand movable die yieldingly carried by the cross-head,said dies having their co-operating opposed faces correspondingiincontour to that ofthe intermediate portion of the creep check to beformed, a lateral slidable member mounted to recipro-' cate toward andfrom the fixed die and adapted to force an end of the creep check blanksaid horn to form the said hook therein, a rack member carried by thecrosshead, and a gear positioned to be engaged and driven by said rack,said gearbeing positively connected to said lateral membercross-head andadapted to engage the other end of the creep check blank and to force itdownward and against the side of the lower die opposite said horn.

3. A creep check forging apparatus comprising a fixed die having on oneside a horn adapted to shape a hook on one end of the creep check and onits opposite side a grooveforming shoulder, a reciprocating crosshead,acooperating die yieldingly mounted on the cross-head, said dies havingtheir cooperating opposed faces corresponding in contour to that of theintermediate portion of the creep check to be forged, a plunger mountedto move across the line of travel of the cross-head means recnpiocatingwith and carried by the cross-headadapted to force said plunger towardthe fixed" die beneath thesaid horn thereon during the lower range oftravel of the cross-head whereby to bend one end of the creep checkblank around said horn and into hook-shape, and means movable with thecross-head to force the other end of the creep check downward andagainst the side of the fiXeddie opposite said horn.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

1 EMANUEL WOODINGS.

